Cap for storage vessels

ABSTRACT

A cap adapted to be received on the neck of storage vessels or the like. Disclosed is a cap including a body having a cavity which slidably receives a sealing member partially surrounded by a compression ring. That portion of the cavity adjacent its point of emergence from the body includes an outwardly flared wall and the compression ring and sealing member are similarly configured so as to enter the outwardly flared portion for one position of the sealing member with the cavity. To effectuate a seal, the body is forced toward the neck of a storage vessel to drive the sealing member inwardly into the cavity. During such movement, the flared portion of the sealing member is urged into tight sealing engagement with the neck of the storage vessel by reason of the configuration of the cavity.

United States Patent Moore et al.

[451 Apr. 16, 11974 CAP FOR STORAGE VESSELS Primary ExaminerDonald F. Norton [751 Inventors: Cecil L. Moore; Timothy A. Neyens, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hofgren, Wegner, Allen,

both of Dubuque, Iowa Stenman & Mccord [73] Assignee: A. Y. McDonald Mfg. Co.,

Dubuque, Iowa [57] ABSTRACT Filed; 1972 A cap adapted to be received on the neck of storage [21] Appl N03 239 625 vessels or the like. Disclosed is a cap including a body having a cavity which slidably receives a sealing member partially surrounded by a compression ring. That US Cl 215/83, portion of the cavity adjacent its point of emergence 2 5/ 215/5 from the body includesan outwardly flared wall and [51] hit. Cl the compression ring and ealing member are imilarly Fleld of Search 83, 96, configured so as to enter the outwardly flared portion for one position of the sealing member with the cavity. References Cited To effectuate a seal, the body is forced toward the UNITED STATES PATENTS neck of a storage vessel to drive the sealing member 3,680,73l 8/1972 Lelyk 215/96 x inwardly the cavity- During Such mOvement, the 1,609,453 12/1926 Atwood.... 215 45 x flared Portion of the Sealing member is urged into 2,903,148 9/1959 Keller 215/45 tight sealing engagement with the neck of the storage 3,206,955 9/1965 Horovitz 215/98 X vessel by reason of the configuration of the cavity. 2,791,343 5/1957 Franck... 2l5/83 X I 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures g 24 5 Z4 y 16 CAP FOR STORAGE VESSELS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to caps for receipt on necks of storage vessels or the like.

The most pertinent prior art known to applicants includes US Pat. Nos. 2,903,148 toKeller; 2,860,802 to Gold; 2,620,938 to Jessnig; and 3,450,290 and 3,469,725 to Turner.

Over the years, there have been many different proposals for vessel closures of the type which are received on the neck of a vessel and wherein a sealing member is movable between two positions within a cavity of a cap body. Generally, at an outermost position of the sealing member within the cavity, the sealing member assumes a'configuration wherein it may be easily located on the neck of the vessel. For an innermost position of the sealing member of the cavity, to which the sealing member may be moved by applying force to the cap body against the neck of the vessel, the sealing member will be forced into tight sealing engagement with the neck of the vessel by reason of the provision of a decreasing cross section of the cavity from an outermost point toward an innermost point.

While such proposals have been generally satisfactory for their intended use, a number of drawbacks are present, particularly, when the principles thereof are intended to be employed with relatively large vessels. For example, the cap body is generally made of a metal while the sealing member will be of a plastic such as rubber. Frictional contact between the sealing member and the cavity wall often results in some deterioration of the sealing member due to wear such that after an extended period of use, the seal provided is less reliable.

In addition, when such closures have been used in conjunction with vessels wherein a pressure in excess of atmospheric pressure exists within the vessel, it has been necessary to mold a rib on an internal surface of the sealing member to be forced under a flange on the extremity of the neck to insure retention of the cap on the vessel. The provision of such a rib complicates formation of the sealing member.

Finally, when it is desired to provide a means for precluding unauthorized removal of a cap from a vessel, difficulties are encountered insofar as it may be necessary to provide complementary means on both the cap body and the vessel by which the two may be secured together. Thus, the resulting cap construction cannot be self-contained as far as wholly including a means for preventing unauthorized removal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION it is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved closure to be received on the necks of vessels. More specifically, it is the principal object of the invention to provide a closure of the type wherein a sealing member is movable between two positions within a cavity in a cap body and wherein such movement forces a sealing member into snug, sealing engagement with the vessel neck and which substan tially eliminates wear between the cap body and the sealing member, provides for positive retention without any need for specially molded ribs on the sealing member, and which is provided with a wholly self-contained means for precluding unauthorized removal.

The exemplary embodiment achieves the foregoing objects by means of a construction including a cap body having an internal cavity, the outermost portion of which is flared outwardly. Received within the cavity 5 is a resilient seal formed of a plastic such as rubber and interposed about the periphery of the seal and the wall of the cavity is a metal compression ring. The presence ofthe ring precludes frictional contact between the sealing member and the cavity so as to minimize wear in the assemblage during use. The compression ring includes an inwardly directed, annular flange at its end adjacent the point of emergence of the cavity from the body and which abuts an end of the sealing member. The arrangement is such that when a cap is placed on the neck of a vessel, both the sealing member and the compression ring slide within the cavity with the aforementioned flange causing an end of the sealing member to bodily move under a flange on the neck and to be held in place for retention purposes.

The preferred embodiment also includes means for preventing unauthorized removal in the form of a latch pivotally mounted on the exterior of the cap body. A portion of the latch is movable into the cavity to engage the flange of the compression ring. An outwardly projecting lug on the exterior of the body is also provided and the same is adapted to block pivotal movement of the latch away from a latching position when a padlock is extended through an aperture in the latching memher.

The construction of the means for preventing unauthorized removal has the advantage in that a metallic latch can be used and the same is never brought into contact with soft parts of the construction as, for example, the sealing member. Rather, the same engages only the flange of the metal compression ring. C

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical section of a cap made-according to the invention and showing the same on the neck of a vessel in a position merely resting thereon; and

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the cap illustrating the same on the neck of a vessel in a sealing position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An exemplary embodiment of a closure for necked vessels is seen to comprise a cap body, generally designated 10, having a cavity 12 opening as at 14 at one end of the body 10. According to the preferred embodiment, the body 10 may be somewhat frusto-conical and formed of any suitable material. Cast aluminum is preferred because of its strength coupled with lesser density than other materials thereby simplifying manipulation of the cap.

The upper extremity of the body 10 may be provided with a pair of upstanding lugs 16 including tapped v bores 18 therein. A crossbar 20 may be affixed to the lugs 16 by means of bolts 22 passed through bores 24 in the ends of the crossbar 20 and in alignment with the tapped bores 18. The crossbar 20 may serve as a handle for the assemblage. In this regard, to allow use of the crossbar 20 as the handle and yet provide for a compact assemblage, the end of the body 10 opposite the cavity opening 14 may be provided with a central recess 26 so as to provide sufficient space between the cap body and the underside of the crossbar as to allow free movement of the fingers of a person utilizing the cap therethrough.

The cavity 12 has a generally cylindrical interior wall 27 terminating in an outwardly flared portion 28 adjacent the cavity opening 14. Preferably, an inturned annular lip 30 is provided at the end of the outwardly flared portion 28 remote from the cylindrical portion 27 to retain the sealing components of the construction. Of course, the opening 14 through the lip 30 must be sufficiently large so as to allow the neck of a vessel to extend inwardly into the cavity 12.

Disposed within the cavity 12 for movement therein is a sealing member, generally designated 32. The sealing member 32 is formed of any suitable resilient plastic as, for example, rubber, and is configured as a shallow cup. The sameincludes a recess 34 complementary to the innermost end of the cavity 12 which will include a projection by reason of the provision of the recess 26 in the body 10. The recess 34 is surrounded by a smoothly rounded annular ridge 36 which terminates in a downwardly extending peripheral end 38. The radially inward portion of the end 38 flares outwardly as at 40 to facilitate seating the sealing member 32 on the neck 42 of a vessel. The radially outermost portion 44 of the end 38 has a shape generally complementary to the outwardly flared portion 28 of the cavity 12 and will be received therein when the sealing member 32 is in the position illustrated in FIG. 1 relative to the body 10.

From the foregoing description of the configuration of the sealing member 32 as well as the illustration in FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be appreciated that the sealing member 32 can be easily formed by molding inasmuch as, from top to bottom, all of the outermost surfaces are either generally cylindrical in shapev or extend outwardly while the innermost surfaces extend inwardly, resulting in a configuration lacking ribs of the like that are difficult to form by conventional molding processes. This feature simplifies fabrication of the sealing member 32 over other constructions heretofore known.

lnterposed between the outermost edges of the sealing member 32 and the walls of the cavity 12 is a compression ring, generally designated 46, formed of resilient metal. The compression ring 46 is formed to be complementary with the radially outermost parts of the sealing member 32 and further includes an inwardly directed annular flange 48 which underlies the end 38 of the sealing member 32. The compression ring 46 by reason of its formation of a material generally stiffer that that which the sealing member 32 is formed, is operative to positively conform the end 38 of the sealing member 32 to the shape of the exterior of the vessel neck 42 to insure a good seal as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. In addition, the use of the compression ring 46 formed of a material such as metal precludes frictional contact between the sealing member 32 and the walls of the cavity 12, thereby precluding deterioration due to wear to substantially lengthen the useful life of a closure made according to the invention.

Extending from one side of the exterior of the body 10 is an elongated lug 50 which pivotally mounts. via pivot pin 52, a latch element, generally designated 54.

4 The latch element 54 is generally hook shaped and in cludes a projection 56 which may be extended partially into the cavity 12 through a notch 57 in the lip 30. That portion of the latching element 52 on the opposite side of the pivot pin 52 from the projection 56 includes an aperture 58 for receipt of a padlock 60 under circumstances to be described and it, together with the lug 50, serve as a means for precluding the unauthorized removal of the closure from a vessel neck.

The construction is completed by means of a small vent passage 60 extending from the cavity 12 to the exterior of the body 10.

The use of a closure made according to the invention will now be described. Initially, the sealing member 32 will be in a lowermost position within the cavity 12 as illustrated in FIG. 1 and as such is in a configuration to freely receive the neck 42 of a vessel. In this regard, the latching element54 may be pivoted in a clockwise direction a distance slightly further than that illustrated in FIG. 1 so as to insure clearance between the locking projection 56 and the neck 42.

Once the closure is located on the neck 42 of a vessel, as illustrated in FIG. 1, force is exerted on the handle crossbar 20 resulting in downward movement of the body 10 on the neck 42 of the vessel. Air within the cavity and trapped between the sealing member 34 and the upper wall of the cavity 12 is free to exhaust through the vent passage 60. 7

During the resultant movement, the sealing member 32 and the compression ring 46, while actually stationary, will move relatively upwardly within the body 10 with the result that the outwardly flared portion of the sealing member end 38 and the compression ring 46 will shortly encounter the cylindrical wall 26 of the cavity 12. This will result in the outwardly flared portions of both such elements being cammed inwardly to tightly embrace the outer surface of the neck 42. Where the neck 42 may be provided an outwardly extending flange-like portion 62, the end 38 will be driven underneath the lowermost extremity of. such a flangelike portion 62 and held firmly in place by the inwardly extending annular flange 48 of the compression ring 46 as illustrated in FIG. 2 to insure an extremely tight seal as well as positive retention of the cap on the neck 42. At this point, the latching element 54 may be pivoted. in a counterclockwise direction about pin 52 and a padlock 64 applied through the aperture 58 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

It will be appreciated that the projection 56 on the latch 54 will be in snug abutment with the flange 48 on the compression ring so as to preclude movement of the same outwardly within the cavity 12. Moreover, the presence of the padlock 64 will be such that only a small amount of clockwise movement of the latching element 54 can take place before a portion of the padlock 64 will engage the lug 50 to preclude further clockwise movement. This small amount of clockwise movement will be insufficient to remove the projection 56 from the cavity thereby preventing relative outward movement of the compression ring 46 and the sealing member 32 within the cavity 12 sufficient to allow disengagement of the neck therefrom.

It should be noted that the means for preventing unauthorized removal of the closure are wholly selfcontained in terms of being associated only with the closure itself. Moreover. the construction is such that the projection 56 does not directly encounter'the relatively soft sealing member 32 so as to possibly damage the same. Rather, its contact is with the metal compression ring 46 which can stand substantial wear.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a closure made according to the invention provides an extremely long useful life, is configured in such a way that the sealing member 32 is easily formed and provides the convenience of a reliable, self-contained means for preventing unauthorized removal.

We claim:

1. A cap for storage vessels or the like comprising: a body including a cavity therein, said cavity at a point adjacent its point of emergence from said body including an outwardly flared annular formation; a sealing member within said cavity, said sealing member being,

formed from resilient material and adapted to sealingly engage the neck of a vessel; and a compression ring at the interface of said sealing member and the wall'of said cavity, said compression ring including a formation thereon conforming to the outwardly flared formation of said cavity to normally fit snugly therein; said compression ring and said seal being movable together in said cavity whereby movement of said sea-ling member and said compression ring into said cavity will cause said formation of said compression ring and a portion of said sealing member'to move radially inwardly to firmly embrace the neck of a storage vessel, said compression ring further including an inwardly directed flange extending under said portion of said sealing member, said compression ring being formed ofa wear resistant material, a latch pivotally mounted on said body and having a portion movable into said cavity to engage said flange to limit movement of said compression ring and said sealing member within said cavity such that said cap cannot be removed from the neck of a storage vessel, said latch further including means for preventing removal of said latch portion from said cavity.

2. A cap according to claim 1 wherein said lastnamed means comprises an aperture in a portion of said latch exterior of said cavity adapted to receive a padlock and a lug extending from said cap adjacent to said latch and adapted to engage a padlock affixed to said latch and having a portion extending through said aperture.

3. A cap for stroage vessels or the like, comprising: a body including a cavity defined by an annular side wall having an open end for receiving the neck of a vessel and a closed end having a central recess therein, said cavity at a point adjacent its point of emergence from said body at said open end including an outwardly flared annular formation; a sealing member within said cavity, said sealing member being formed from resilient material and adapted to sealingly engage the neck of a vessel and extending completely across said cavity; a compression ring at the interface of said sealing member and the wall of said cavity, said compression ring and said seal being movable together. in said cavity whereby movement of said sealing member and said compression ring into said cavity will cause said formation of said compression ring and a portion of said sealing member to move radially inwardly to firmly embrace the neck of a storage vessel; a small vent extending from the interiormost portion of said cavity to the exterior of said body through said closed end; a handle extending across said closed end and above said recess therein; and means for selectively preventing removal of said cap from the neck of a storage vessel.

i =l l= 

1. A cap for storage vessels or the like comprising: a body including a cavity therein, said cavity at a point adjacent its point of emergence from said body including an outwardly flared annular formation; a sealing member within said cavity, said sealing member being formed from resilient material and adapted to sealingly engage the neck of a vessel; and a compression ring at the interface of said sealing member and the wall of said cavity, said compression ring including a formation thereon conforming to the outwardly flared formation of said cavity to normally fit snugly therein; said compression ring and said seal being movable together in said cavity whereby movement of said sealing member and said compression rIng into said cavity will cause said formation of said compression ring and a portion of said sealing member to move radially inwardly to firmly embrace the neck of a storage vessel, said compression ring further including an inwardly directed flange extending under said portion of said sealing member, said compression ring being formed of a wear resistant material, a latch pivotally mounted on said body and having a portion movable into said cavity to engage said flange to limit movement of said compression ring and said sealing member within said cavity such that said cap cannot be removed from the neck of a storage vessel, said latch further including means for preventing removal of said latch portion from said cavity.
 2. A cap according to claim 1 wherein said last-named means comprises an aperture in a portion of said latch exterior of said cavity adapted to receive a padlock and a lug extending from said cap adjacent to said latch and adapted to engage a padlock affixed to said latch and having a portion extending through said aperture.
 3. A cap for stroage vessels or the like, comprising: a body including a cavity defined by an annular side wall having an open end for receiving the neck of a vessel and a closed end having a central recess therein, said cavity at a point adjacent its point of emergence from said body at said open end including an outwardly flared annular formation; a sealing member within said cavity, said sealing member being formed from resilient material and adapted to sealingly engage the neck of a vessel and extending completely across said cavity; a compression ring at the interface of said sealing member and the wall of said cavity, said compression ring and said seal being movable together in said cavity whereby movement of said sealing member and said compression ring into said cavity will cause said formation of said compression ring and a portion of said sealing member to move radially inwardly to firmly embrace the neck of a storage vessel; a small vent extending from the interiormost portion of said cavity to the exterior of said body through said closed end; a handle extending across said closed end and above said recess therein; and means for selectively preventing removal of said cap from the neck of a storage vessel. 